Load-carrier

ABSTRACT

In a continuous conveyor positioned on goods vehicle platforms and comprising equidistantly spaced carriages, load carrying elements provided with guide rails and blocking means arranged to cooperate with correspondingly shaped guide and blocking means on said carriages for interconnecting said carriages and said carriers whereby the latter may be advanced by means of said conveyor.

States Patent 1 1 1 1 3,831,794 Bohman Aug. 27, 1974 LOAD-CARRIER 3,724,698 4/1973 Weston 214/518 [75] Inventor: Gote Hubert Bohman, Hudiksvall,

Sweden Primary Examiner-Albert J. Makay [73] Asslgnee' ggg fig af Bedum Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Newton, Hopkins &

Ormsby [22] Filed: June 4, 1973 [2]] Appl. No.: 366,418

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data ABSTRACT y v I973 Swudc" ln a continuous conveyor positioned on goods vehicle platforms and comprising equidistantly spaced car- [52] Us Cl 214/516 104/172 B riages, load carrying elements provided with guide [51] [iii Cl IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII I. 860p M38 rails and blocking means arranged to cooperate with 1581 11111 oi'aa'a'iiiiiia'iiie'ias'i'rsg D 8314- correspondingly shaped gwde and blockmg means on 1 104/172 R 172 172 C 1 said carriages for interconnecting said carriages and said carriers whereby the latter may be advanced by 56] References Cited means of said conveyor.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 6 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures 3,204,797 9/1965 Chandler 2l4/5l8 LOAD-CARRIER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It is known to use load-carriers provided on goods vehicles having covered platforms forthe transport of goods. The platform is provided with an endless conveyor means running over two pulleys provided at the ends of a support beam which is movable in the longitudinal direction of the platform. The conveyor means is provided with equidistantly spaced carrier driving carriages to each one of which is connectable a loadcarrier having a rectangular bottom face.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention concerns a mechanism attached to the lower face of each load-carrier and provided with two guide rails, said guide rails diverging in the direction towards one end of said load-carrier and being arranged to cooperate with a correspondingly shaped guide means provided on the driving carriage. In addition, the load-carrier is provided with a blocking shoulder cooperating with a blocking means provided on the driving carriage. This arrangement facilitates connection of said load-carrier to its associated driving carriage as well as disconnection therefrom. In addition, the guide rails ensure that the load-carrier is efficiently driven by its associated carriage.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention in cases when the load-carrier is provided with one pair of fixedly mounted running wheels and one pair of pivotally mounted running wheels the guide rails diverge towards the end of the load-carrier where the fixedly mounted wheels are positioned. This ensures that the load-carrier will always be connected to its associated driving carriage at that end of the loadcarrier which is provided with the fixedly mounted running wheels and that the end of the load-carrier where the pivotally mounted running wheels are positioned will be turned outwards, i.e., facing the side walls of the loading vehicle superstructure or cover. This is a prerequisite for enabling easy shifting of the loadcarriers to or away from the loading and unloading point at the rear end of the loading platform by means of the conveyor mechanism.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be further elucidated in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates in a perspective view as seen obliquely from behind a goods vehicle provided with a conveyor mechanism for the load-carrier in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the vehicle, the cover having been removed.

FIG. 3 illustrates on an enlarged scale a vertical longitudinal section through the rear portion of the conveyor mechanism and the front portion of one of the load-carriers prior to the connection thereof to one of the driving carriages.

FIG. l is a similar sectional view but after such connection of the load-carrier.

FIG. 5 is a view from beneath of one of the loadcarriers in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the load-carrier as seen from behind.

FIG. 7 is an end view thereof.

FIG. 8 is a side view, shown partly in a vertical, longitudinal sectional view, of the connection control mechanism of the load-carrier and the blocking means therefor, and

FIG. 9 is a vertical cross-sectional view illustrating the cooperation between the guide means and blocking means of the load-carrier and those of the driving carriage.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. 1 illustrates a goods vehicle 1 having a loading platform 2 which is provided with a superstructure or cover 3 comprising two side walls 4, 5, a front wall 6, and two flaps 7, 8 of which flap Si in addition to being foldable also may be lowered and raised. A support beam 9 is mounted for movement in the longitudinal direction of the loading platform 2, the ends of said beam supporting rotatably mounted chain wheels 10, 11 over which runs an endless conveyor chain 12. The latter is provided with equidistantly spaced carriages 13 adapted to drive load-carriers 14. FIG. 1 shows only the load-carrier bottom 17 supported by two pairs of wheels and 16.

As illustrated in FIG. 4 the support beam is provided at its rear end with a vertical shaft 18 about which is totatably mounted one, 10, of the chain wheels. To the chain wheel 10 is connected a conical cog wheel 19 with which cooperates a conical gear, driven by a (not illustrated) hydraulic motor. The entire support beam 9 together with its chain wheels 10 and II and the drive mechanism as well as the chain 12 running over the chain wheels and the driving carriages 13 may be displaced in the longitudinal direction of the loading platform 2 from a rear position (FIGS. 1 and 2) in which the rear end of the beam 9 projects outwards over the flap 8, to a forward position in which the entire conveyor mechanism is positioned entirely within the superstructure or cover 3.

Each driving carriage 13 is provided with a two-arm lever 20 which serves as a blocking means and is pivotably mounted about a horizontal bolt 21 arranged on the frame 22 of its respective driving carriage. The lever 20 may be swung by means of a spring means 23 counter-clockwise as seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, one, 24, of its arms then engaging obliquely upwards in a guide means 25 on the carriage 13. The load-carrier bottom 17 is provided at its lower portion with guide rails 26 fitting the guide 25, and with a blocking shoulder 27 behind which the free arm 24 snaps in a blocking manner, upon displacement of the load-carrier 14 in the direction illustrated by arrow 28 in FIG. 3 onto the carriage 13. Release of the load-carrier 14 is effected by turning the lever 20 in the direction indicated by arrow 29 in FIG. 4, this operation being effected by means of an electrically, hydraulically or manually operated power means (not shown).

The guide rails 26 are formed, in. accordance with th embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 5-9, by downwardly bent portions of a bottom sheet metal section 30, the rails thus formed diverging in the direction towards that end 311 of the load-carrier 14 at which are positioned the fixed bearings 32. The side edges 33 of the guide means 25 (FIGS. 3, 4, and 9) diverge in the same direction as do guide rails 26 and at the same angle as the latter and are so arranged that in position of connection the guide rails 26 engage with said guide edges 33. As appears clearly from FIG. 8, the blocking shoulder 27 is formed by a tongue portion which is bent downwardly and rearwardly from the bottom sheet metal section 30.

When a load-carrier 14 is to be coupled to a driving carriage l3 (FIG. 3), the load-carrier is moved in the direction of,arrow 28 to a position (FIGS. 4, and 9) wherein the guide rails 26 enclose the guide edges 33 and are stopped thereby. In this position the free end of the arm 24 snaps upwards behind the blocking shoulder 27 (FIG. 4) and the interconnection of the loadcarrier and the driving carriage is thereby effected When the transport chain 12 is moved over the chain wheels 10, Ill, the load-carriers 14 are displaced by means of the conveyor carriages 13 coupled to the carriers to or from the loading or unloading point on the vehicle flap 8. Release of the desired one of the loadcarriers 14, after arrival thereof on the flap 8, is carried out by turning the lever 20 in the direction indicated by arrow 29 in FIG. 4, whereupon the load-carrier may be pulled backwards along the guide 25.

The driving metal section 30 serves as a support surface during the connection procedure, i.e., when the load-carrier M is pushed onto the driving carriage l3 and the fixed wheels on the load-carrier thus lose contact with the support (the flap 8). The driving carriage 13 transfers that portion of the load-carrier weight which does not rest on the link wheels 16. The driving carriage thus replaces the power transmission from the two fixed wheels 15. The driving metal section 30 transfers forces at right angles to the normal direction of travel of the load-carrier M which is very important. The driving metal section 30 immobilizes the load-carrier 14 during its transport by means of the vehicle 9 and prevents movements relative to the driving carriage 113 both in the direction of travel of the support beam 9 and vertically, i.e., upwards and downwards.

The embodiment as shown and illustrated is to be regarded as an example only and the various details of the load-carrier may be constructively altered in a variety of ways within the scope of the appended claims. In accordance with the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 the bottom plate 30 is connected by means of transverse stays 34 to brackets 35 for the wheels 15. This gives a light yet sturdy structure. The invention also embraces a sheet metal plate extending over practically the entire base portion of the load-carrier 14, this plate having guide rails 26 which are attached to said plate or formed therefrom by bending sections of said plate downwards. The blocking shoulder 27 may be formed from a rib or the like attached on the bottom plate 30 or the over-all plate, just mentioned, covering the entire bottom. The load-carrier may be provided with a crate or the like forming a container supported on the bottom portion 17.

What I claim is:

1. An improved rectangular load-carrier supported on runningvwheels and intended for use in loading vehicles of the kind having a loading platform provided with a continuous conveyor means, a support beam extending in the longitudinal direction of the loading platform and arranged for longitudinal movement relative thereto, each end of said beam supporting a pulley, said conveyor means travelling over said pulleys and comprising equidistantly spaced driving carriages for engagement with said load-carriers for advancement of the latter by means of said conveyor means, the improvement comprising two guide rails provided on the lower face of each load-carrier, said guide rails diverging towards one end of said load-carrier, guide means provided on said driving carriage, said guide means being of a shape corresponding to said load-carrier guide rails and arranged to cooperate therewith, a blocking shoulder on said load-carrier, and a blocking means formed on said driving carriage to cooperate with said load-carrier blocking shoulder.

2. An improved load-carrier as claimed in claim 1, having one pair of fixedly mounted running wheels and one pair of pivotally mounted running wheels, the improvement comprising said guide rails diverging towards the loadcarrier end at which are positioned said fixedly mounted wheels.

3. An improved load-carrier as claimed in claim 1, comprising a bottom plate, said guide rails arranged at the edges of said bottom plate, said blocking shoulder provided at the centre of said bottom plate.

4. An improved load-carrier as claimed in claim 2, comprising a bottom plate, said guide rails arranged at the edges of said bottom plate, said blocking shoulder provided at the centre of said bottom plate.

5. An improved load-carrier as claimed in claim 3, comprising said blocking shoulder being formed by a tongue portion bent downwards from said bottom plate.

6. An improved load-carrier as claimed in claim 4, comprising said blocking shoulder being formed by a tongue portion bent downwards from said bottom 

1. An improved rectangular load-carrier supported on running wheels and intended for use in loading vehicles of the kind having a loading platform provided with a continuous conveyor means, a support beam extending in the longitudinal direction of the loading platform and arranged for longitudinal movement relative thereto, each end of said beam supporting a pulley, said conveyor means travelling over said pulleys and comprising equidistantly spaced driving carriages for engagement with said load-carriers for advancement of the latter by means of said conveyor means, the improvement comprising two guide rails provided on the lower face of each load-carrier, said guide rails diverging towards one end of said load-carrier, guide means provided on said driving carriage, said guide means being of a shape corresponding to said load-carrier guide rails and arranged to cooperate therewith, a blocking shoulder on said load-carrier, and a blocking means formed on said driving carriage to cooperate with said load-carrier blocking shoulder.
 2. An improved load-carrier as claimed in claim 1, having one pair of fixedly mounted running wheels and one pair of pivotally mounted running wheels, the improvement comprising said guide rails diverging towards the load-carrier end at which are positioned said fixedly mounted wheels.
 3. An improved load-carrier as claimed in claim 1, comprising a bottom plate, said guide rails arranged at the edges of said bottom plate, said blocking shoulder provided at the centre of said bottom plate.
 4. An improved load-carrier as claimed in claim 2, comprising a bottom plate, said guide rails arranged at the edges of said bottom plate, said blocking shoulder provided at the centre of said bottom plate.
 5. An improved load-carrier as claimed in claim 3, comprising said blocking shoulder being formed by a tongue portion bent downwards from said bottom plate.
 6. An improved load-carrier as claimed in claim 4, comprising said blocking shoulder being formed by a tongue portion bent downwards from said bottom plate. 